MILWAUKEE -- Why play for ties?
As a lot of our readers can share -- and feel free to do so, by the way, in the comments here -- we've got lots of happy dads in our fold as the direct result of receiving a Father's Day gift subscription to our site from a son or daughter. And that holiday, of course, is coming up tomorrow.
The cost is $19.99 for a year, or one-third the full price, and there's no auto-renewal or other catch, so no one gets stuck with a charge they don't want. If we aren't a fit for them, they can just let it expire.
Here's where to buy: DKPS.net/gift
It's funny, we usually don't even sell 100 of these each year, and yet it's always felt like there's an outsized impact to the ones we do. Maybe it'll be a father/son or father/daughter combo visiting our Downtown HQ/shop and sharing how much it meant to both of them to have this shared experience or shared conversational point. And then again, it'll almost as often be the reverse, with the father boasting about how he got his kid or kids hooked by doing the buying himself.
Another thing that comes up is how the father ... tends to need a hand on the tech end. But even there, hey, a bond's a bond, right?
If there are any questions at all about this, I'm here and happy to answer.
Oh, and here's wishing all the best to all the rest of you dads! I'll be back home with my kids very late tomorrow night, but they'll wait up! (I hope!)
MILITARY DRIVE: 133
Our annual Military Drive, aimed at connecting 1,000 veterans of our Armed Forces to a one-year subscription, got off to a strong start in its opening week with 133 already purchased.
That's appreciated, to say the least. And it's very encouraging toward the goal of getting it done by Veterans Day, which this year falls on Nov. 11.
Here's how it works: We sell a military subscription for $20, covering a full year for any veteran. That's one-third of the regular price. However many you'd wish to donate, even if it's just one, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com to let me know, and Dali will do the processing.
THE BIG MEETING
We did meet, as I'd mentioned in this space last week, with our BoomPress developers at the Downtown HQ/shop this past Tuesday, and we went over about a billion ideas aimed at upgrading both the team feeds and the commenting, as well as ensuring that all look and function up to the bar that's already been set.
Nothing's firm, including the time of release, but they did acknowledge the NFL's 2023 kickoff as a possible finish line for some of it, specifically some statistical work, new player pages, other elements. There's a lot.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Can't repeat this often enough: If your subscription's expiring and you don't think you'll be able to afford it ... you can, and I'll make sure of it personally. We'll work it out. No questions asked. Just email me: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
• The stupid blank video player ... just might be solved. Unfortunately, flat-out eliminating it would mean turning off 100% of our ads, and that's not an option. But there's another way we're pursuing aggressively.
• The six buttons at the bottom of your app can be changed to any teams/leagues you like. Just open your profile -- the image at the very top left -- then thumb down to Customize App, tap Edit, and arrange them any which way you prefer. Can change them seasonally, too, as I do. (And yeah, I know these were down with the update, too. Should be OK now.)
• To add an image to your profile, which also serves as a commenting avatar, tap right here to go to your profile. From there, right near the top, tap the blue camera icon to insert any image you'd like.
• We're often asked about our merch being available online, and yes, it's right here.
• Travel on tap: Taylor Haase, who's on vacation for the next few days, and Danny Shirey will double-team our coverage of the NHL Draft, June 27-29, in Nashville, Tenn. ... Alex Stumpf will have the Pirates' Miami trip later in the month, as well as Anaheim, Calif., early next month. Corey Crisan will fly out for the series in Phoenix after that. while Alex flies north to Seattle for the Major League Baseball Draft and the All-Star Game.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page views for the past week were 518,549. Our most-read original piece was my Point Park University Friday Insider at 6,458. Broken down by team traffic, the Pirates brought 30.0% of our readership, the Penguins 19.2%, the Steelers 15.3%, Pitt 2.5%, Penn State 2.3%.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 115,942, and our YouTube video views for the past week were 96,576.
• Our company social media accounts are at 49,838 followers on Twitter, 39,285 on Facebook, 23,081 on YouTube, 14,871 on Instagram.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Anything you need, including lost/forgotten passwords, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com